Trailable building



Sept 10, 1957 c. w. KINSMAN TRAILABLE BUILDING 2 Shee ts-Sheet 1 Filed July 6, 1954 F fi u \/l I 2 FIG. 2

, N A .M S .m K M m L k w. E C N E R A L INVENTOR BY ATTORNEY United States This invention relates to trailable buildings and an object of this invention is to provide a towable building having foldable roof sections to lower the overall height of the building during transit and having means for attaching wheels and axles and an apertured towing plate, the building being adapted to be constructed at an assembly point and to be towed to a building site for temporary or permanent location upon a foundation.

An object of this invention is to provide a small sized building having a sectionally hinged roof and mountable wheels and an elongated axle extending entirely across the width of the building, the building being adapted to be readily transported or moved along the usual roadways for a permanent or temporary location on a building site.

In order to carry out the objects of this invention, 1 have designed a portable building which is fully adapted to meet quickly and economically the present housing shortage, insofar as that shortage can be met for average sized families. The portable building disclosed herewith is designed for mass production at a central manufacturing plant and for towing transport of the building over the standard types of roads and highways for delivery to a building site whereon the building may be quickly set on a temporary or permanent foundation and connected to the usual utilities, such as gas, water, sewers, and lights for immediate occupation.

In accordance with the disclosure herewith this building comprises a rigid metal and wood base frame upon which the building is constructed with a sectionally hinged roof thereon. The base frame serves both as a sill and main fioor structure, and as a chassis having means for attaching demountable or removable rear wheels and an elongated axle extending entirely across the width of the building, the front wall of the building having a plate with means for attachment to a towing truck or tractor for guideable transport along a road or highway.

This application discloses the invention in a form which is an improvement on my patent for Portable House, No. 2,527,012, dated October 24, 1950, and also an improvement on my patent application for Portable House, Serial No. 186,878, filed September 26, 1950, now Patent No. 2,687,896. Also an improvement on my patent application for Structural Planking Unit for Walls or Floors, Serial No. 277,618, filed March 20, 1952.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more particularly described, and the combination and arrangement of parts will be shown in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims which form part of this specification.

Reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional end view of the building showing foldable roof sections, eaves, unequal heights of side and end walls and rigidly secured upper and lower "ice 2 floors and wall construction, the section being taken on line 1-1 in Figure 4.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a detailed portion of a modified arrangement of the upper and lower floors rigidly secured to a side wall.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 in Figure 4, the floor being partly broken away to show floor beams, sills and studding.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the assembled building mounted on wheels and equipped with an eye plate ready for towing.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the numeral 10 indicates a trailable building comprising a metal and wood load-carrying base frame 11 and a finished main floor 12 secured thereto.

Upright end walls 13, 13' and side walls 14, 14' are suitably fixed to the metal load-carrying frame 11 to form a rigid structure. The main floor 12 and the base frame 11 are contained within the walls 13, 13' and 14, 14'.

For the purpose of this invention, I may make the building 18 of two floors constructed in a manner so as to provide an integral story-and-a-half rigid wall structure 15 and a roof structure 16 which is foldable downwardly preparatory for purposes of transit.

It will be noted that hinges 17 secure the upper portion of the rigid end walls 13 to gable walls 18. The hinges 17 permit the gable walls 18 to swing inwardly of the house. Further hinges 19 secure the roof sections 29 and 20 to the upper portions of the side walls 14 to permit the roof sections to swing inwardly of the house.

The main floor 12 has temporary through openings 22 at opposite side Walls. In practice, an axle 23 is laid over the floor 12. As shown in Figure 3, the axle 23 is sufliciently elongated so as to extend entirely across the width of the building. I provide a metal plate 24 extending all around the .base portion of the building. I provide apertures 25 in the side wall portions of the metal plate and further provide reinforcing bearings 26 at the apertures 25. The axle 23 passes through the apertures 25 and through the bearings 26. Wheels 27 are rotatably mounted on the axle 23 and pass downwardly through the floor openings 22 to permit the building to be transported on a roadway.

The axle 23 is in transverse alinement with the length of the building and positioned closely above the finished main floor to bring the said floor close to the roadway.

It is to be noted that while I have shown side walls of unequal height, that I may make the side walls of equal height in which case the walls would not lie level as shown in Figure 1. The gable end sections would be folded outwardly of the building. The side walls of unequal height have a difference in height approximating the overall thickness of the roof section so that when folded they lie level.

As shown in Figure 1, I provide a sectional partition 23 above the upper floor and show a hinge 30 foldably connecting the sections of the partitions.

By limited overhead clearance, I mean roadways Where the overhead is substantially less than fourteen or fifteen feet.

It is to be noted that the hinges 17, 19 and 30 may have removable pins to join the two sections which are connected by the hinge. This makes it possible by removing the pins to completely remove all movable sections, not merely fold them.

As shown in Figure 2, I provide a rigid side wall 31 which is rigidly connected to the load carrying base frame 11 and to the upper floor 32. I provide a two member wood sill 33, vertical studding 34 suitably spaced on the sill alongside the cross beams 35, the metal plate 24 extending all around the building secured thereto by screws 36, 36 along its upper and lower edges.

I further provide heavy blocking 37 between the studding 34 and rigidly secured to .the studding along .the upper edge of the metal plate 24. The sill .33 and the metal plate 24 and the blocking ,37 provide in eifect a composite channel to provide .fiexural rigidity while the building is being towed. V

As shown in Figure 4, I provide an angle member-39 secured to the 'base frame 11 by bolts 4.0. I also provide a removable eye plate 41 bolted to the angle member 39 and having an eye 42 for a towin'ghook.

As shown in Figures 1 and-4, I haveprovided a dormer 45which supplies light and ventilation to the interior of the second story. During transit the dormer is removable "by removing bolts 46.

I have provided eaves extensions 48 and 49 which may be of unequal size to coact With side walls 14, 14' of unequal heights. The eaves form non-foldable continuations of the roof sections 20, 26. During transit the eaves are removable by removing bolts 50.

In accordance with the patent statutes 1 have described and illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention, but it will be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a portable building a base frame with four walls including opposite, non-foldable side walls and opposite nonfoldable .end walls rigidly secured to said base frame,

'said building having upper and lower floors and a foldable roof, said lower floor being positioned intermediate the height of said base frame, means for temporary attachment of wheels to said base frame, said upper floor being rigidly secured to the upper portion of said side'and end Walls, the upper portions of said Walls extending appreciably above said upper floor level, a roof section hingedly and foldably attached to the upper portion of each of said side Walls to lower the height of said building so as to permit said building to be towed like a trailer over roadways having limited overhead clearance, said roof sections being foldable interiorly of said building while said side "walls remain upright, each roof section being shorter than the distance to its opposite side wall, each of said side walls having an eaves extension at the top of the wall and fixed thereto and forming nonfoldable continuations of said foldable roof sections, and means for separably securing said roof sections at their ridge line in Weatherproof relation after being raised to angular relation at the building site.

2. in a portable building as in claim 1 in which said side Walls are of unequal height with the difference in height approximating the overall thickness of a roof section. a

3. In a portable building as in claim 1 in which said side Walls are of unequal height with the difference in height approximating the overall thickness of a roof section, and said eaves extensions being of unequal size to enact with said unequal side walls to cause said roof sections in entirety to be of equal size.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kinsman Aug. 31, 1954 

